China is yet again clamping down on the cryptocurrency industry
Nearly a year after the government banned initial coin offerings and shut down domestic cryptocurrency exchanges, it is again tightening the screws on the industry.
The Great Firewall, extended to crypto: Censors have blocked a number of blockchain and cryptocurrency-focused accounts from WeChat, the popular social media service. WeChat, as well as online payment service Ant Financial, announced that it will restrict or ban cryptocurrency-related transactions. Authorities will block access to 124 websites operated by offshore cryptocurrency exchanges that had provided trading services to Chinese users, reports the South China Morning Post. And, according to other local reports, Baidu will restrict or ban cryptocurrency-related content on its Reddit-like discussion platform.
Canceled conferences: Financial regulators have instructed stores, hotels, and other businesses in downtown Beijing not to host cryptocurrency-related speeches, events, or activities.
But blockchains are fine: Despite all this, “many industry insiders” tell the Wall Street Journal that blockchain technology is still thriving in China. The government recognizes its long-term value, Jehan Chu, cofounder of a Hong Kong–based cryptocurrency investment firm, told the Journal. “Instead, they're trying to reform it and clean it up so they can roll it out in China the way they rolled out the internet, their own way with their own rules.” In other words, it’s not that the Chinese government doesn’t like blockchains—it just doesn’t like blockchains it can’t control.
Keep Reading
Most Popular
This new data poisoning tool lets artists fight back against generative AI
The tool, called Nightshade, messes up training data in ways that could cause serious damage to image-generating AI models.
The Biggest Questions: What is death?
New neuroscience is challenging our understanding of the dying process—bringing opportunities for the living.
Rogue superintelligence and merging with machines: Inside the mind of OpenAI’s chief scientist
An exclusive conversation with Ilya Sutskever on his fears for the future of AI and why they’ve made him change the focus of his life’s work.
How to fix the internet
If we want online discourse to improve, we need to move beyond the big platforms.
Stay connected
Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review
Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.